Datacenters are proliferating across the world with the increase in the use of technology, such as the Internet, virtualization and cloud computing. A datacenter can for example host thousands of servers in a small space, and can also provide simplified cabling, a controlled environment (such as air conditioning and fire suppression), redundant or backup power supplies and security. The servers are generally arranged in racks, which themselves may be arranged in aisles of the datacenter.
Heat load analysis has become one of the most critical aspects in performance management of datacenters. Electrical equipment produces heat, which should be removed to prevent the equipment temperature from rising to an unacceptable level. Most servers and other equipment found in a datacenter are air-cooled. Sizing a cooling system and devising a thermal management plan for a datacenter requires a detailed understanding of the amount of heat produced by the equipment and heat sources in the datacenter, together with an accurate layout of the equipment, heat sources, dividers and fluid flow paths.
Datacenters often have complex infrastructures and virtual three-dimensional models of datacenter floors are useful tools in developing a thermal management plan. Such virtual 3D models, which may for example be prepared as a CAD drawing, may be developed initially from the known initial floor plan and layout of datacenter equipment. The problem is that the layout of equipment within a datacenter generally changes over time. The state of structures affecting thermal management may also change over time. For example, partitions may be moved, and doors and vents may be periodically opened or closed.
As a result, virtual 3D models become outdated. Datacenters often handle this by overprovisioning the thermal management plan. This leads to the problems of excessive and inefficient thermal management of datacenters. Currently, cooling datacenter equipment is often as costly as the running of the equipment itself.